Vengeance
by noneko
Summary: One Shot: The Exile Returns. “Alene frowned. “I’m not giving you a choice, Kavar. Only an option to attack first.””


_Completed far too late for the Action Challenge, but originally meant for it. Alene is mine, but all the other characters are not. Get it? Good._

**Vengeance**

"Fight me." Alene's voice carried through the ornamented halls of Queen Talia's throne room, echoing through the almost empty chamber. The bodies of the dead lay on the floor, separatists and loyalists alike.

"I have no wish to." Kavar said simply. Queen Talia glanced at the one-time Exile with frightened eyes, her vibroblade clenched in her hand.

Alene frowned. "I'm not giving you a choice, Kavar. Only an option to attack first."

Kavar gripped his double blades and sighed. His former friend had fallen. He could sense the darkness around her, encompassing her aura and the auras of her companions. What had happened to her was regrettable, but necessary. He had already spent too much time feeling guilty over her, but that time was past. He felt guilty over exiling Knight Taveel, not this new woman who glared with golden eyes and spat words of vengeance.

He remembered the last time he had fought Alene Taveel, when she was a Padawan and he was a newly raised Master. Before the War, before the judgment, when things had been simpler.

_He was still one moment, and moving the next, robes flying behind him as he rushed forward on Force-propelled feet. His twin blades hummed in the warm wind, breaking through the rustling of the grass and the calls of birds with a harsh whine. _

_Alene had a split second to think before she acted, spinning out of the way of his thrust a moment before his blades pierced the air where she had been standing. Her single blade came down forcefully towards Kavar's back, but he had anticipated her move and moved to block her as he turned around. Alene's blade was forced up above her head, and Kavar's superior strength pressed down on her, forcing her back inch by inch._

_With a yell, Alene threw herself backwards and rolled, narrowly avoiding Kavar's answering swipe. Kavar recovered and jumped towards her, blades readied. Alene scrambled up and regained her balance, holding her blade out in front of her. At the last second, before Kavar landed, she threw herself out of the path of his blades, using her hands to flip herself to a standing position._

_In the few moments after Kavar landed, while he was unprepared, she struck, using a flurry of movements to get past his defenses. Kavar flipped backwards to avoid her, but her blade managed to singe his outer robe. Smiling victoriously, Alene attacked again, but this time, Kavar was ready, and used both of his blades to catch her strike._

_They struggled for a few moments, as Alene tried to free her blade and Kavar tried to keep it captive. In the end, Kavar's strength was too much for her, and Alene's blade went spinning off, landing a few meters away. Kavar pointed one of his blade's at Alene's chest. The blue light emanating off of it cast shadows even in the daylight._

_"Good match, Padawan," he said, smiling. Alene blushed shyly and wiped the sweat off her forehead with her sleeve._

"Come on, Kavar," Alene smirked, taunting the Weapon Master, "I've fallen. Kill me. You know you want to."

"Alene, I – " Kavar began. Alene cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"Shut up, Kavar. If you wanted to save me, you should never have Exiled me. I'm here to get revenge."

With one final glance at Talia, Kavar struck, his blades moving faster than lightning. Alene quickly flipped back, avoiding his strike with a grin. "You'll have to do better than that." She said mockingly, parrying his next strike easily.

Kavar gritted his teeth and flew into a complicated series of moves, driving Alene back with a strength that appeared from nowhere. Alene's eyes widened slightly – the only indication that she was impressed. She narrowly avoided each strike, but they were getting closer and closer. Finally, Kavar swung his blade towards her feet, and in her haste to avoid his saber, she fell backwards, hitting the stone floor of Talia's throne room.

Kavar took the few precious moments of her instability and charged forward, lightsaber raised for the kill. This time, Alene was ready for him, Her foot caught his chest, and she rolled backwards, using his momentum to send him crashing into an ornate pillar. As he dazedly rose, Alene grabbed at her lightsaber and stabbed viciously at his chest. He was too disoriented to block. Queen Talia screamed.

"Good match, _Master_." Alene smiled fiercely, smirking at Kavar's smoking corpse. She turned to Talia. "Vaklu's coming for you. He wants to take care of you himself."

Talia's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. Before the Queen could gather the courage to venture a remark, Alene turned on her heel and walked out of the throne room, never to return.

**Author's Note:** Short and hopefully sweet. Thanks to the crew for being supportive while I was agonizing over this. You know who you are.


End file.
